an opinionated sports blog

December 7, 2018

Our deepest condolences to anyone that had Derrick Henry on their fantasy football team’s bench for the Thursday nighter.

BUFFALO -3.5 over New York Jets

Sam Darnold is planning on playing for the Jets and while it is an improvement over Josh McCown, it’s not by much. The Bills have been somewhat decent with Josh Allen playing and his rushing ability causes headaches for opponents.

CLEVELAND +1.5 over Carolina

The Panthers are falling apart in front of our eyes. Cam Newton is nursing a shoulder injury and Greg Olsen is done for the year. The Browns had a setback last week, but have looked good since dropping Hue Jackson.

GREEN BAY -5.5 over Atlanta

A new manager bounce for the Packers? I won’t be surprised if we see a rejuvenated Aaron Rodgers, especially with a depleted Falcons defence standing in front of him. Don’t forget that Atlanta has failed to reach 20 points in each of the past four games, either.

Indianapolis +4.5 over HOUSTON

We’re thinking that last week’s shutout in Jacksonville is a weird anomaly for the Colts. Andrew Luck and Co. need to bounce back here or any chance of a wild-card berth is off the table.

Baltimore +6.5 over KANSAS CITY

The Chiefs nearly blew it against Oakland last week and the Ravens are a much better team than the Raiders. Even with a returning Joe Flacco potentially throwing a wrench into Baltimore’s momentum, we should see how much Kareem Hunt’s absence hurts the Chiefs here.

New England -7.5 over MIAMI

The somehow 6-6 Dolphins nearly blew it against the Bills last week. While we’re skeptical to give more than a TD on the road, the Pats have been a bit underrated despite winning eight of their past nine.

TAMPA BAY +8 over New Orleans

The Bucs have already beat the Saints once this season, which should be enough to make you think twice about giving more than a touchdown on the road.

New York Giants -3.5 over WASHINGTON

Should we just chalk up all of Washington’s recent injuries to karma for claiming Reuben Foster? This team is far too banged-up to compete against almost anybody.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS -14 over Cincinnati

The big fear here is that the Chargers take it easy. The Bengals don’t have much going for them these days with A.J. Green joining Andy Dalton on the IR. We’ll spot the points, but aren’t really happy about it.

Denver -4 over SAN FRANCISCO

The loss of Emmanuel Sanders surely hurts the Broncos’ playoff hopes, but the loss of standout RB Matt Breida hurts the 49ers more. San Fran is clearly in the tank and won’t put up too much fight here.

ARIZONA +3 over Detroit

The Cards are pretty bad, but this Lions team is running out of healthy players on offence and shouldn’t be favoured anywhere on the road.

Philadelphia +3.5 over DALLAS

The Cowboys started their winning streak against the Eagles four weeks ago and Philly won’t forget that. Dallas’ defence is at the top of its game right now, but we think this game is settled by a field goal.

Pittsburgh -10.5 over OAKLAND

The Raiders covered last week when being spotted double-digits at home, but we don’t see that becoming a habit. The Chiefs were coming in just days after the Kareem Hunt debacle while the Steelers but their drama in the rear-view weeks ago. In need of a win, we don’t expect Pittsburgh to let up.

CHICAGO +3 over Los Angeles Rams

Mitchell Trubisky’s return greatly helps the Bears, while the Rams looked out of sorts last week in Detroit. Facing the daunting Bears defence, out in the elements this time, we could see that happen again.

SEATTLE -3 over Minnesota

Kirk Cousins hasn’t exactly been living up to that huge, guaranteed contract and now he’s heading to Seattle to face a surprising Seahawks in a huge matchup with playoff implications. With the stakes this high, we’re more eager to side with Russell Wilson.